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Review:

nott theodore says:Hi! I've heard so much about your writing and I've been hoping I'd get a chance to read something of yours soon, and I'm glad I did! If you hadn't said that this was your first attempt at angst then I never would have guessed it!

The choice of protagonist for this story is fantastic - you find so few stories focusing on Moaning Myrtle and I've never seen one which portrays her in this way. It's really original and great to read!

I loved the style of this piece. The tone of it was wistful and conveyed the longing that Myrtle felt whenever she encountered living humans. I found myself feeling really sorry for Myrtle - in the books I never thought of her as much more than a moaning ghost, but you added a lot of depth and showed me another dimension to her character.

The way that she listed all the things that she missed was so touching; it reminded me that she was once a young girl with her whole life ahead of her, and that was cut tragically short. She must be so lonely with nobody wanting to talk to her. I loved the fact that you created a real back story to Myrtle's life - especially the fact that she had a boyfriend just before she died - because it brought her character to life for me.

Another aspect which was great was the fact that she sought refuge and comfort in books - it's something that so many readers will be able to relate to, and fits well with her character. The thought that she can't even have that pleasure now, that escape, is so sad and moving.

"Come and take my empire of dust, and I'll take your breaking heart and your tears. I will take your pain and your misery, because it is all a part of life. But, I will also take your joys, your firsts and your lasts. I will take your life, if you would wish death over it." This was such a beautiful paragraph, and I loved the images it evoked.

Really great job with this!

Sian :)

Author's Response: Sian! It's you :) Hi!
I'm still gushing about the awesomeness of this review! :D

You've heard about my writing? Wow. *gushes some more* That makes me feel so honoured! It's a lovely feeling. Thank you for this :) And this is really the first time I've tried my hand at writing a full-on angst. I'm glad it was believable.

It makes me happy to know that you appreciate my character choice and also how I've portrayed Myrtle in this. To be entirely honest, I wouldn't say that I'd given her much thought until this challenge. I'm thankful for the opportunity though, because I loved this challenge and I loved being challenged too.

I tried really hard to make sure that her angst and loneliness came through clearly. it's nice that you saw that :) She is an un-loved character, and I don;t blame anyone for that. I just tried something different with this one. I'm glad it worked!

Romance always helps in humanizing a character. It gives us something to relate to. As do things that we all experience regularly. So things like exams and jobs are also something that I felt I could mention to make her more relate-able.

This part, is something that's close to me as well. We all seek the refuge under the covers of a lovely book to distract ourselves from harsh and painful truths. I'm really happy that you liked that, and the paragraph that you have mentioned above. It's lovely when someone's appreciates your work like this.

Thank you SO much! You've said such lovely things here :) You're a very nice person, Sian! Always! I can't thank you enough for this lovely review! :)